Congratulatons! You have stumbled onto the Santacon Wilmington Information page~ all the info you need to be SANTASTIC! at this year's event.

2012 SANTACON DETAILSWHAT: Santacon: The Great Santa Rampage ......(a 21+ event) WHEN: Saturday, December 8, 2012, starting at 6PM.WHERE: Meet at Juggling Gypsy. 1612 Castle St. Wilmington, NCWHY: Because Santa needs to blow off some steam before Xmas. HOW: Easy... Dress like Santa & Show up at 6PM. Get in the Vans & the sleighdriving reindeeer do the rest.

* note: There's actually another early group of Santas going out at 1pm downtown, lead by Santa Tait. you can find their facebook group online if you want to start early. It's a downtown thing.

The Gypsy santacon ensemble, however, rents vans and will hit downtown, and the outskirts, including private holiday parties, and some secret, hilarious non-bar settings. Vans leave the Gypsy at 7. saturday december 8. $10 gets you driven around all night long. Keep updated on the Santacons thru twitter at #santaconilm. COME EARLY. SANTAS START PARTYING AT DARK.

The Juggling Gypsy does not "host" Santacon. It is simply a rally/starting point and frequent check-in spot and oft pass-out point during the adventure.

If you KNOW you are going, please EMAIL us now to RSVP. Reserve a space in the Vans early. Early passes are available at the Juggling Gypsy. Ask a staff member. The more early people we get, the better idea of how many people are going, so we can accommodate All Santas to ride in style! Van reservations are $10.00 for shuttling your Santa Self around all night!

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WHAT IS SANTACON?
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Santacon is a annual worldwide phenomenon that takes place at various times before Christmas in several hundred cities around the world. it's a cacaphonous public spectacle, where Santas, Ms Clauses, elves, reindeer, and the occasional Present (aka: you in your holiday costumes!) converge at the same time in a disorderly fashion to confuse the general public, invade bars, cram small cafes to capacity, dance in public places, and sing naughty christmas carols.Lots of fun to shake off the cold, and put some fun back into an otherwise overcommericalized holiday!

Participating is easy...Dress like Santa, Mrs Claus, or an Elf. Get or make a Santa Suit, Take some pillow stuffing, look like Santa~! Say a couple of HO!s, Show up to the Gypsy and declare yourself the REAL SANTA to all the other Santas and take charge.

Santas always need elves, reindeer, presents, and Even Frosty the Snowmen. Get Creative.But DO remember, the SAME hierarchy applies to Santacon as does the North Pole. Santa Tells Reindeer and elves what to do. Mrs Claus does anything she wants.

************************THINGS TO BRING:
************************CASH. Santas are quick movers. Leaving a tab open in a bar risks Santas geteing left behind.YOUR ID: This is not a bar crawl...though they are a Santa Favorite. Make sure it is easily accessible, but not easily dropped. CAROLINGBOOK: print one out.Click Here. UMBRELLA: If it rains, you dont want to be a wet santa.CANDY SACK: Santa loves to throw candy to or at people. A Santa sack can hold All your goodies."WINDEX": A very clean Spray bottle of Windex, Pine Sol, Febreze, or other Comercial cleaner bottle, to hold your Santa Juice.

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WHAT TO EXPECT
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You are Santa. Santa rules. People will approach you and ask you questions, like: "Who are you?" Answer: Santa"No, really, who are you?" ~ Answer: Santa, stupid."C'mon, what's your real name?" Answer: ~ What part of SANTA dontcha undersand, kid? ( except, don't be mean to kids.) "So, Santa, Where are you from?" Answer: The North Pole
..you get the idea. BE SANTA.

So WHY would anyone do this?
When you put dozens upon dozens of Santas in the same room, a Great Santa bravado occurs. It’s comical, it’s exhilarating, and sometimes frightening, as many Santas invade a singular destination, each declaring themselves as the REAL Santa… No one knows what to expect.

WARNING: In all its years, the Santacons have developed certain traditions. Like drinking WINDEX, and spanking. Ok you're not really drinking Windex, but it's Blue Juice and really confuses the uneducated spectator.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Only the Santas know for sure. Before Santacon, A “Santinerary” is planned, with a Head Santa wrangling all Santas to a series of destinations. When the head reindeer Tells Santa to get in the Van, SANTAS GET IN THE VAN.

THE "NO SANTA LEFT BEHIND" POLICY.
When the Santas Hit a destination, Santas tend to spread out. But when it's time to go, Grab your nearest Santas, scan the area for more, check the nooks and crannies, and the bathrooms, and Drag those Santas Outta there!

AVOIDING THE DOWNTOWN SANTA SPLIT.
After Santas have had a bunch of Eggnog, sometimes, smaller groups of Santas try to faction off to go to different bars. If a Santa Near you is talking about splitting off, talk them out of it. SANTAS STICK TOGETHER. Santas Are stronger in large quantities, and a tiny group of 4 stumbling Santas is just damn pathetic. STAY STRONG. STAY TOGETHER.

MANTRA: SANTA DOESN'T PAY (for cover charges)
When Santas are confronted with a bouncer who tries to charge a door cover, it is holiday tradition to let Santas in for free...whether the dor guy knows it or not. If facedwith a cover charge, Santas gang together and chant "Santa Doesn't Pay!". That usually does the trick. If the doorman is a hard-ass, whip out your Naughty caroling book, and sing your Heart out!

GETTING YOUR SANTA SUIT

You have two options: Make one or Buy one.

PLACES TO BUY SANTA GEAR:

* PARTY CITY ON MARKET ST has lots of awesome Santa gear and generic Outfits.*And The Halloween Store on S. College Rd near The Lowes Shopping Center is open this season, and can make you into the santa you've always wanted. CVS, Walmart, and other large department chains all have hats, some even have the Hat/beard Combo...you make up the rest.

Want to make your Santa Suit but not sure how? Click here to learn how.

HOW TO MAKE A SANTA SUIT

NEED TO GET A SANTA SUIT TOGETHER IN TIME FOR SANTACON?

Below is a list of what you need to make your very own standard santa suit,
and helpful tips on how and where to procure/make them.

1) Get your hands on some red, white and black fabric. Mostly Red.
If you dont sew, you'd better go to one of the local thrift stores, or hit up the recesses of your closet. Red pants are a good start.

If you can't find the Hat/beard Combo, you can make a beard from whatever same white fuzzy material you use to add onto your santa coat.

Making the Santa Beard and other fuzzy white parts:
THere are many ways to do this~ here are 2 suggestions...

1) WHITE FELT: If you buy a measely 2 yards of white fuzzy material,
you'll have enough to make the beard, and the white fuzzys that santa wears around his sleeve cuffs, ankle cuffs, collar, and the lapels of the jacket. Felt is super cheap and sold by the yard at places Like Joann's Fabrics in the Lowes Shopping Center on College Rd, or just across the street, at AC Moore Craft Store.

2) the other way~ PILLOW FUZZ: You can find any old mangy pillow and have enough material to make the suit fuzz AND the beard. But we've seen these tend to fall apart easier. But LOOK more authentic. Open a pillow, Roll the fuzz between your hands vigorously, stretch, and bend into the desired lengths and shapes. Hairspray glue, or spray adhesive also helps hold it together. You can attach material to your coat by using spray adhesive, elmers glue, or safety pins.

DO UP YOUR RED JACKET....Any oversized Red coat will do, but a red robe will make you a warm, stylish Santa. Robes in major department stores can cost a lot, but Santas Do it on the cheap.

Check your local thrift stores.
IF youre not a thrifter, here's a list of some of our favorites:
1) Salvation Army: Just off 3rd St past Cape Fear Comm College.
(there may be a Santa There, so take notes on his appearance)
2) There are two very cool consignment/thrift shops across the street from Each other next to Traxx printing between Wrightsville and Wilshire on Kerr Ave.
3) Goodwill on Kerr close to Market Street
4) Salvation Army thrift Store on Carolina Beach Road between shipyard & downtown 5) Mission Thrift Store on 5th and Castle St.

The Under Shirt: there are 2 major depictions of Santa we've found. 1 shows him wearing a "wife beater" sleeveless t-shirt, and the other shows him in a thermal body suit. Honestly, nobody's gonna look that closely...but if you're going authentic, dig something up.